We haven’t ridden the new Cannondale MX400, but, like you, we’ve been reading the press on this bike with great interest. It’s no secret that the MX400 has received generally unfavorable press — focusing to a large extent on an annoying fuel injection stumble in part of the powerband, and the heft of the machine.
The Cannondale MX400 also carries a hefty price tag — right up there with the best from KTM for instance. Cannondale weathered lots of criticism for significant delays in delivering the production version of its bike, but it appears that Cannondale may have released the bike too soon, in any event.
Even mildly negative press was destined to seriously damage Cannondale’s sales — this market is just too competitive and there are too many good bikes available at a lower price. Cannondale has reportedly stopped production, and is making adjustments to its production machinery as we speak.
I think everyone admires Cannondale’s spirit and ambition. The company has a well-deserved and long-standing reputation for quality and innovation in the bicycle field. We just hope that Cannondale can turn things around in its motorcycle division. I think they will, and that the hardest part of their task has already been finished. Getting the bike to the production line, and into dealer’s showrooms with zero experience was a phenomenal task — tweaking the machine to make it a competitive machine and a worthwhile purchase is a much smaller task.
